Obama accuses China over hacking

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has entered the fray on cyber attacks from China, saying some intrusions affecting US firms and infrastructure were "state sponsored."

The comments appeared to step up the rhetoric against China following similar remarks from other members of the US administration.

"What is absolutely true is that we have seen a steady ramping up of cyber security threats. Some are state sponsored. Some are just sponsored by criminals," Mr Obama said in an interview with ABC News released on Wednesday.

"We've made it very clear to China and some other state actors that, you know, we expect them to follow international norms and abide by international rules.

"And we'll have some pretty tough talk with them. We already have," Mr Obama said, complaining that billions of dollars and industrial secrets were lost as a consequence of hacking.

The comments by the president come after a series of warnings from top US security officials that Washington would not stand idly by in the face of these threats.

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General Keith Alexander, who heads the US National Security Agency and Cyber Command, told politicians on Tuesday the military is creating at least 13 units which would have offensive capabilities in cyberspace as part of efforts to protect US infrastructure.

"I would like to be clear that this team, this defend-the-nation team, is not a defensive team. This is an offensive team that the Defense Department would use to defend the nation if it were attacked in cyberspace," General Alexander told a Senate panel.

"Thirteen of the teams that we're creating are for that mission set alone."

James Lewis, a cybersecurity specialist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the heightened rhetoric suggests Washington's patience has worn thin with China and some other governments after numerous diplomatic initiatives.

"There is some intelligence which hasn't been made public that points toward China as the major actor in economic espionage," Lewis told AFP.